Desktop Operating System Market Share WorldwidePosted on 08/20/2024 5:54:51 PM PDT by ShadowAce
Desktop Operating System Market Share WorldwideWhile this percentage might seem small to those unfamiliar with the operating system landscape, it represents a significant milestone for Linux and its dedicated community. What makes this achievement even more thrilling is the upward trajectory of Linux's adoption rate.
Linux's journey over the past year tells a story of slow but steady progress. Here's a breakdown of Linux's market share, month-by-month, between July 2023 and July 2024 by StatCounter:
| Month and Year | Linux Desktop Market Share |
|---|---|
| July 2023 | 3.12% |
| August 2023 | 3.18% |
| September 2023 | 3.02% |
| October 2023 | 2.92% |
| November 2023 | 3.22% |
| December 2023 | 3.83% |
| January 2024 | 3.77% |
| February 2024 | 4.03% |
| March 2024 | 4.05% |
| April 2024 | 3.88% |
| May 2024 | 3.77% |
| June 2024 | 4.05% |
| July 2024 | 4.45% |
This data reveals some interesting patterns:
These numbers represent millions of users worldwide choosing Linux as their primary desktop operating system, indicating a growing interest in open-source alternatives.
Several factors contribute to the growth of Linux adoption.
Firstly, there's a growing sentiment that Microsoft, with its Windows operating system, is faltering. Instances like Microsoft urging users to train their AI for free have left users feeling disgruntled and seeking alternative solutions like Linux. Adding fuel to the fire, the impending end-of-life for Windows 10 in October 2025 is causing many to consider a switch to Linux.
Secondly, the gaming landscape is changing, and the launch of the Steam Deck is playing a pivotal role in attracting new users to Linux. This handheld gaming device operates on a Linux-based system, introducing a whole new demographic - gamers - to the capabilities of Linux, and they're enjoying the experience.
Some other significant factors that contribute to Linux's increasing popularity are:
As a Linux enthusiast, I find the recent surge in Linux's popularity truly exciting! With the current trends, Linux may even reach a 5% market share in 2024.
According to the statistics from the past ten years, It took eight years for Linux to go from a 1% to 2% market share (April 2021), 2.2 years to climb from 2% to 3% (June 2023), and a mere 0.7 years to reach 4% from 3% (February 2024). This exponential growth pattern suggests that 2024 might be the year Linux reaches a 5% market share.
The beauty of Linux lies not just in its technical prowess but in the spirit of its community and the factors contributing to its growth.
Please note that the aforementioned statistics are gathered through website trackers employed by platforms like StatCounter. Given that a significant portion of Linux users prioritize privacy and employ user agent switchers and anti-tracking tools, the actual number of Linux users could be substantially higher.
Adding to the intrigue, a sizable 7.14% of desktop operating system market share falls under the category of "Unknown". It's highly plausible that a significant portion of this "Unknown" category comprises Linux systems operating discreetly.
Also, ChromeOS is derived from the open-source ChromiumOS, which is itself based on the Linux kernel. If we include ChromeOS's market share of 1.41% in the overall Linux market share, the total would be 5.86%. This means that Linux has already surpassed the 5% market share milestone.
While Linux's growth is noteworthy, it's important to view it in the context of the overall desktop operating system market:
Linux's 4.45% puts it firmly in fourth place, ahead of Chrome OS but still well behind the market leaders.
Linux's rise to 4.45% market share represents a significant achievement for the open-source community. While it may not be threatening Windows or macOS for market dominance, its steady growth demonstrates that there's a real appetite for alternative operating systems among desktop users.
I am one of those who mask my OS/information.
“I am one of those who mask my OS/information.”
I would say that unknown is mostly Linux users who wish to remain private.
I really should increase my supply of "spare" computers. Need more Linux boxes. I had Windows Subsystem for Linux almost somewhat working for a while under Win11, then gave up on it.
I was thinking rpi users. Countless millions of those.
Well even Raspberry Pi OS is a Debian derivative.
Take one of those and get Mint cinnamon. If any are 32 bit boxes go get this as the best for those. Mint Cinnamon 18.3 32 bit.
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3445
A soon as you have it installed go shut off the updates, you wont need them and they don’t support it anymore anyhow. You will find that will not matter. And your Firefox browser will be outdated. Just run a command line update and upgrade to bring all the apps up to date with their new changes.
You will have a 32 bit machine that plays like a new one.
Thank you Ace, this is cool news... :)
“Can you generate a fake OS? Tell the world you are on BEos, a VAX, or OS/2 Warp?”
I’m curious what he is doing too... :)
Well, next year millions of users of computers less than 5 years old will have to make the choice of
1) laying out $500 to $1500 for a new computer that can do what their existing computer can.
2) use a machine that no longer gets security updates and patches and which is boycotted by software companies
or
3) upgrade to Linux.
And what about LINUX users that run a copy of Window in a Linux shell?
A number of newer laptops are essentially sealed boxes - it is a major chore to install a new battery or switch out the drive for a bigger/faster one. So GNU/Linux gives users a workable alternative to having to upgrade hardware - just get on youtube, learn a few basics, and pitch Windows in the ditch where it can rot in peace - and switch your computer to GNU/Linux which usually performs excellently on older hardware (compared to Windows).
Also, GNU/Linux is getting easier and easier to install, even for non-techies. Note that it is NOT fool-proof.
GNU/Linux is divided into distros, and each distro has one or more options of desktops available. A distro indicates the basic packaging system (Debian/Fedora/Arch/etc.), while the desktop environment (DE) designates the user interface.
Browsers like Firefox and Chrome are available, as is the LibreOffice suite for general office work, along with numerous games and music players and video players and much more.
The single greatest difference, in my opinion, is in the package managers. With Windows, you just head off into the wilds of the Internet and track down whatever software you want, frequently having to shell out money for it. You install it and hope you can get drivers to work. On the other hand, the GNU/Linux user space makes use of repositories that hold the free-to-use software for your distro. The software you find in the repositories has been specifically compiled to run on your distro, so there are surprisingly few real driver issues except for Nvidia graphic cards and a few odd network adapters. I have had almost zero driver issues in the past nearly twenty years. The kernel contains the drivers, and the kernel is updated frequently, so in the odd case where a driver seems to be missing, generally an update will install it soon.
DE’s include:
Gnome is similar in looks to Windows11, and is used by many.
KDE is a slick-looking system with lots of configurables. The plethora of options can be overwhelming, but it is quite stable and has a good package base.
Cinnamon is lightweight and solid.
Mate (my choice) is lightweight and quite solid.
LXDE and LXQt and the rest all have their fans.
Also, most GNU/Linux distros have live USB images which let you install on a thumbdrive so you can boot and test the hardware before you install.
That was a very honest and accurate summary, thank you.
Windows folks are up against the wire. They really need to get on this ASAP if they are going to do it.
Yes but rpi is arm, they may only be counting x86 desktops under linux.
We use WSL on Win 10 as our dev platform. Our team develops embedded sw in C and Python using gcc. We use VSCode and gitlab all within WSL (we run an in-house edition of Ubuntu inside the WSL container). We can even access the build server through the corporate VPN from home. Onboarding is a bit of a chore but we document everything on a wiki on our gitlab repo page so new team members can get set up.
With my yearly budget of engineering software in the $10s of thousands the OS is not important to me. I just want something so I can stop giving that wannabe nazi Gates any money.
I need to get my Proxmox box into service and fire up as many Linux containers as needed. (Next weekend’s project!)
FreeBSD .01%? I’ve got four of them here /snicker
Wife is on Linux Mint. Gates aggravated me one time too many. She’s happy.
Got a Raspberry Pi 4 too. Linux.
It will still be several years before say Office will only work in Windows 11 or higher.
I do not want to switch to Windows 11 as I do not trust Bitlocker which encrypts your hard drive.
If you do not remember your Bitlocker password or the Microsoft account password where maybe hopefully the Bitlocker account is stored then all your files like family photos, tax records... all files are gone!
The backup drives may also be affected.
Many millions will have a new pc but do not realize they have a encrypted one until they try to log in.
I have a WD Essential 2TB external drive that has Bitlocker. I have no password as I never did encrypt. I have a 2015 Gigabyte desktop pc with Windows 10 Pro and no TPM chip or secure boot. Bitlocker is not an option.
My 2018 HP z240 SFF desktop pc has secure boot and no TPM chip.
Neither pc can be upgraded to Windows 11.
I have a license for Windows 11 Home 22H2 which has no Bitlocker option. I have used it in a VirtualPC window and used a workaround to install it.
Future Windows 11 24H2 will have Bitlocker for both Home and Pro versions.
I tried various solutions found on the internet but nothing works. Many postings of people saying the same thing that they did not encrypt the internal or external drive.
Microsoft showed it had the ability to get around Bitlocker when that crowdstrike problem happened but it will not be available otherwise.
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